Sports Briefing

Four touchdowns, one big stiff-arm and a standing ovation: not bad for Willis McGahee's first time competing in an N.F.L. setting.

''Today was a good day,'' McGahee, a Bills running back, said yesterday after a scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns.

Selected 23rd in the 2003 draft, McGahee, a former University of Miami star, missed last season recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee, which he hurt in the national championship game against Ohio State earlier that year.

CARDINALS' SHIPP INJURED -- Arizona Cardinals running back Marcel Shipp, the team's leading rusher last season, will miss 8 to 12 weeks with a broken left leg.

HAMILTON RECEIVES PROBATION -- The retired Giants defensive tackle Keith Hamilton has been sentenced to three years' probation on a cocaine possession charge.

Hamilton, 33, was also ordered to tour schoolrooms in New Jersey to impress upon children the dangers and consequences of drug use. Hamilton retired in February after 12 N.F.L. seasons, all with the Giants.

BOYER'S FOOT IS BROKEN -- Browns linebacker Brant Boyer will miss 8 to 10 weeks after having surgery to repair his broken right foot.

Boyer, a 10-year veteran and the Browns' special teams captain, was hurt Friday when someone stepped on his foot during a practice between the Browns and the Bills.

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Anthony Miller, a Rutgers recruit, has been indicted on charges stemming from a brawl outside a restaurant in Edison, N.J. The indictment, returned Thursday, charges him with aggravated assault, promoting a riot and resisting arrest.

GOLF

DiMarco Drops Into Tie

Chris DiMarco had eight bogeys and only three birdies in the third round yesterday to drop into a tie for the lead with Rod Pampling in the International in Castle Rock, Colo.

DiMarco, the second-round leader, appeared headed toward a runaway victory in the modified Stableford scoring system event, but he ended up losing 2 points in the third round.

STUPPLES EXTENDS LEAD -- Karen Stupples shot a three-under-par 68 yesterday to build a three-stroke lead over Marilyn Lovander through three rounds of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.